Christmas Bird Count Weekend 2023

Been awhile since I've written about, well, anything—let alone a Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Each year for the past several years, I have participated on both the London CBC and the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC, which fall in that order on the same weekend (first weekend of count period). It is always a fun time spending the whole weekend counting birds! For a long time, these were also the only CBCs that I did, however I have since taken on the Bayfield and the Algonquin CBC, which will be taking place next week. 

I didn't really take my camera out much, so I will have to dig into the archives for supplementary photos... 

I started my London CBC route (which runs alongside the Thames River in Southeast London) around the same time as I usually do. The weather was rather mild, there was little wind, and no rain! Overall, seemed to be a nice day weather-wise to be out! The mild weather likely doesn't help when it comes to concentrating birds, although there is potential for some odd lingering species. 

 Right out of the gate, many of the usual suspects, such as Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. A couple Winter Wrens were heard chattering along the river. A Great Blue Heron also flew by, which is a very hit and miss species during the winter along the river, although not too unexpected. 

Continuing along, we found a nice little group of birds, and upon pishing them in, had four species of woodpecker, including a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a very good bird for the CBC. I know at least one other was seen on the count.

We encountered a couple more groups of songbirds along the way, but generally, it was pretty quiet. I found there to be good numbers of Song Sparrows (I ended up with 14), goldfinches, chickadees. A total of 20 Downy Woodpeckers was impressive as well. 

Song Sparrow

I had a total of 36 species along my route that morning, and just shy of 600 individuals. This ties my highest species count for this route, but it in the bottom half for number of individuals. This isn't too surprising, however, as the duck numbers that usually pad the individual totals just weren't present this year. I did add a few new species to the all time list for this route as well: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Sharp-shinned Hawk. I have had some goodies on this route over the years such as House Wren (2019), Lincoln's Sparrow (2022), and Yellow-rumped Warbler (2018).

 After completing my route, I went over to Pottersburg Park to search for a couple lingering species. Of course, a species of priority for count day was the overwintering Philadelphia Vireo that was found there. This bird represents the first winter record of this species in Ontario. Luckily, it had been seen earlier in the day by another party—of course this is a new record for the London CBC, and likely all Canadian CBCs. I did put in a little time trying to see it anyways, but had no luck. I succeeded on other fronts though, with seeing a wintering Hermit Thrush (one of several seen on the CBC), as well as a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

Philadelphia Vireo (from December 14)

I'm not sure what kind of totals are out there for the London CBC yet, but I do know that a number of good birds were seen, including another count first, the Black-billed Magpie that had been around for a couple weeks just south of London. 

The next day it was down to Rondeau, arriving just before sunrise. Unfortunately, the weather was not as nice as the day previous. Although it was actually a bit more mild, it was raining pretty steadily, and wasn't about to let up. It was difficult to want to get out of the car. Eventually, I did, and started the lakewatch at the visitor centre beach access, as per usual. It was slow at first, but the winds were good, so I persisted. Soon the birds were moving, and there were things to look at. Normally I might lakewatch for an hour before starting my walking, but things were still going strong, so I ended up being out there for nearly three! Red-breasted Mergansers were really moving, and I tallied over 3000, as well as a number of scaup and Common Goldeneye. There were a few White-winged Scoters, as well as a pair of Surf Scoters. Another highlight were some Red-throated Loons. Although not really moving, there were also quite the number of Ruddy Ducks. I estimated over 1000, but surely many more than that. Very difficult to count in the waves.

Red-breasted Mergansers

After I finally pried myself away from the lake, I starting walking up Lakeshore Road towards the campground. It was generally pretty quiet, but with a few pockets of activity. Highlights included several White-throated Sparrows, a pair of Tufted Titmouses (titmice? who knows), and a couple Hermit Thrushes. I ended up seeing four Hermit Thrushes on my walk, so it seems to be a good year for them. 

Hermit Thrush

At the churches in the campground there was a large sparrow flock, mostly tree sparrows and juncos, but also a couple of Field Sparrows, which were nice to see. A Hermit Thrush here too, but not too much else to speak of, other than a Red-tailed Hawk. 

It was then back south down Harrison Trail, but not before poking around the Pony Barn a little bit. I did hear a Pileated Woodpecker here, which may prove to have been the only one on the count! 

Harrison was...quiet. But I mean, it usually is. My highlights were that fourth Hermit Thrush, a robin, and the screech owl in its usual spot along Bennett Ave. 

I ended the route, much later than I usually do, back on the beach. I was hoping for a Bald Eagle, but no luck. I don't think I have ever missed that species before! Perhaps the rain in the morning had kept them at bay.

I was losing sunlight, but just for fun, poked around the north end of the campground a bit. I missed the Audubon's Warbler, but saw some of the other "Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warblers. Also a couple of Fox Sparrows. Golden-crowned Kinglets were also around, taunting me, as I had missed them in the 10km+ of walking I did!

Lastly I checked Keith McLean CA on my way out. Sometimes there are some interesting things trying to overwinter here. On past CBCs I have seen Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, and Nelson's Sparrow. Not today however! Only things of note were Savannah Sparrows, a flicker, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Another "CBC Weekend" in the books! I am looking forward to the Bayfield count on the 27th! 

Christmas Bird Counts 2021

Time for my annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) blog post, which shrinks in content and length every year since I hardly carry a camera anymore...that's why I have friends who take pictures! 

I arrived in London late Friday night, and was up early the next morning for the London CBC. This is my fifth year doing this count, and my route covers about a 5km stretch along the river. Some years it can be dynamite, but others, like this year, it can be quite poor.

It was so poor in fact that I got my lowest species total ever on this route with 28 (average 32), and lowest individual total with 323 (average 685). Averages are only based on five years of data, but still...

Highlights? Not much! A couple Winter Wrens, nine Swamp Sparrows, and 47 Northern Cardinals were all nice. Lots of misses though. I did add Great Blue Heron to my all time list for this route. 

eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S99036733

Today I got to do a slightly more exciting count, the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC. This is my sixth year doing this count. This time around, I was joined by Nathan Hood and Ezra Campanelli. 

We started with a lakewatch at the VC beach access (which apparently is beach #10, never noticed the number before). It was slow at first, but quickly picked up. Highlights were Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, and lots of Red-breasted Mergansers. Took a bit for the loons to start, but ended up with 47 Red-throateds and a Common. Although I guess the place to be was off South Point because Blake had 217 Red-throats! I'm happy though, my perfect streak for Red-throated Loon on this count continues!

Eventually we had to pry ourselves away from the lake, and begin walking up Lakeshore towards the campground. Lots of redpolls around (we ended up with 95, a new Rondeau bird for me). Tufted Titmouse and several Carolina Wrens were real treats for me, having not seen either in months. A Fox Sparrow that was pished in was another real highlight for our trio of dedicated counters. 

A quick check of the beach at the traffic circle revealed a Great Black-backed Gull, a new one for our list. 

After walking the maintenance loop, which was pretty birdy, although nothing really of note, we began our way down Harrison. I thought for sure we'd get a Pileated Woodpecker, but it was not to be. What we did get however was a pair of singing Great Horned Owls, the screech-owl along Bennett Ave, and a flyover Eastern Bluebird at the group campground. 

We finished our route with 45 species, which we were quite happy with. Nothing too rare, and plenty of misses, but that is to be expected on a CBC.  

eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S99134628

After finishing our area, we went to walk around the campground for a bit. Although it was covered by others earlier in the day, always a good place to look around. It did not take us long to locate several Yellow-rumped Warblers, and the Blue-grey Gnatcatcher that has been around. The gnatcatcher is new for the Rondeau CBC if I am not mistaken. 

We scoped the bay before leaving the park. A few Canvasback among other ducks were nice to see.

One last stop was Keith McLean's CA to look for a couple lingering birds. After a bit of searching, we spotted the continuing Nelson's Sparrow. As we were in pursuit of the sparrow for a better look (which we got), we also saw the continuing Least Sandpiper, another new species for the count. The sandpiper also has the honour of being the only photo I took all weekend.

Rondeau has so far recorded 117 species this year, a very high total. It is still a developing situation, and will be interesting to see what the finally results are.  Edit: final tally is 124 species, setting a new record for Ontario if I am not mistaken 

And that just about wraps it up! An enjoyable weekend birding back in Southwestern Ontario. As much as I love Algonquin (to which I am just about to begin my journey back to), I sure have missed these locations! Although in past years I have only done these two counts, this year I have the Algonquin CBC coming up on January 3rd.

Today it was Least Sandpiper, Nelson Sparrow, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, and Red-throated Loons, tomorrow its Evening Grosbeaks, crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, and Canada Jays...

Return to Rondeau

It had been way too long since my last visit to Rondeau, so that is where I decided to head yesterday.

Although birding was my main intention, I didn't really take any photos of birds, so you'll have to live with some plants and insects :)

First things first, I went to Keith McLean CA, along the Rondeau causeway. Always worth a stop I find. There had been a Yellow-headed Blackbird seen there the day prior, but no sign of it when I went. Plenty of Marsh Wrens however, as well as some more unusual birds for the time of year, like Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, and Semipalmated Sandpiper. In the group of gulls sitting in the field, I found a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

It was time to head into Rondeau. My first stop was the South Point Trail. Not too much bird song, other than the usual suspects, but a pair of Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and a Least Flycatcher (a species I often don't encounter in the summer, oddly enough) was nice. I went out to the beach at the light beacon, and found a new species of sedge for me, Sand Sedge or Mulhenberg's Sedge (Carex muehlenbergii). Much more robust and impressive than I imagined it being!

There were some loafing gulls further down the beach, so I decided to keep going. Nothing special among them however, only Bonaparte's, Ring-billed, and Herrings. I continued until I hit the washout, then headed back along the trail.

There were a few Painted Skimmers along the way.

I encountered this grass as well, which I have tentatively called Schribner's Grass (Dichanthelium oligosanthes var. scribnerianum).

I had originally keyed it out to Common's Grass (Dichanthelium commonsianum) using Michigan Flora, but have since revised my identification (this genus is hard!). While we're on the topic, the genus Dichanthelium is a real mess. It used to be the genus Panicum, however Panicum was then split into several more genera (while some species retained the genus name). Even within Dichanthelium, things are confusing. It seems every species name is a synonym for something else! Not to mention the numerous varieties. With some authorities, such as in the checklist of plants for Ontario's Carolinian zone, D. commonsianum is included under D. ovale ssp. pseudopubescens. 

Next, I decided to go to the Tulip Tree Trail. Largely had the place to myself, which was nice. Almost immediately, I heard an Acadian Flycatcher, soon followed by two more. This was my main target for the day, as it was a species I had never seen in Rondeau before. A couple other goodies rounded out the bird list here, including a Wood Thrush carrying food, a Prothonotary Warbler, and a singing Black-throated Green Warbler. Maybe it is just a very late migrant, but I guess it isn't out of reason for a Black-throated Green to attempt to breed here. 

Another Dichanthelium for you, this one a bit more straightforward: Broad-leaved Panic Grass (Dichanthelium latifolium).

I then intended to go to the Marsh Trail, but on the way passed Spicebush Trail. Last minute I decided to turn in and give it a go, because why not? Glad I did!

Nothing really of note bird wise, but as I was walking along I noticed this sedge (Carex).

I recognized it immediately as something in Section Griseae, and felt as though it was something I hadn't seen before. I had a sneaking suspicion it was Eastern Narrow-leaved Sedge (Carex amphibola), which is somewhat similar to the common Inflated Narrow-leaved Sedge (Carex grisea). I consulted a key, and found that my initial thought seemed to be correct, it appeared to in fact be Eastern Narrow-leaved Sedge, a rare species in Ontario, ranking S2 (between 5-20 known occurrences, I believe). Despite its rarity in Ontario, it is actually considered to be the most common species in its section further south of us. The perigynia of this species is triangular in cross section, and seems to be relatively a bit narrower and longer than in Inflated Narrow-leaved Sedge. 

Compare to Inflated Narrow-leaved Sedge. I took this photo back in late May in London. The perigynia aren't completely mature here, but they are mature enough to see the difference. 

I saw another member of the section Griseae along the same trail. Hitchcock's Sedge (Carex hitchcockiana) is a fairly distinct species, with hairy lower stems. 

My last stop in the park was the first little bit of the Marsh Trail. Not really much of note.

Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus)

Silverweed (Argentina anserina)

Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)

Greater Straw Sedge (Carex normalis)

My eBird checklist for the day: https://ebird.org/checklist/S90074662

I went to Shrewsbury after and drove around looking for the Eurasian Collared-Dove, but no luck. Only saw a few Mourning Doves!

I went to Stefina Line east of Blenheim, and saw the reported Dickcissels just before heading back home. Always a nice one to see!

I took some backroads home, but didn't see too much. I had debated about going to check a field that gets Dickcissels each year, but opted to just go home. One was found there this morning! Oh well. 

Gotta love this time of year!

Christmas Bird Counts

As per usual for this time of year, I did a couple Christmas Bird Counts. I do two counts, the London one, which I have been doing for four years, and the Rondeau/Blenheim count, which I have been doing for five. Obviously this year is quite different than previous ones! 

Yesterday was the London count. I did my usual route along the Thames River in the south part of the city. I was unable to turn up anything good however! Just the usual suspects. I ended up with 36 species on my walk, which ties 2018 for the most species I have seen on this route. It is up from 32 species from last year! The weather was sort of mild, which meant not many ducks on the river, but at least it was cold enough to somewhat concentrate the smaller birds.

eBird checklist here.

I ended up with two new species for my overall route list, Merlin and Common Redpoll. Interestingly, Carolina Wrens were fairly numerous. I couldn't find a single one last year! I think it has been a good year for the species.

Carolina Wren (from this spring)

Afterwards, I went to the landfill as it was not too far away. I only found one concentration of gulls, and only four species among them (Herring, Ring-billed, Glaucous, and Great Black-backed). Thankfully, Reuven Martin, who had been doing that area for the count, managed to also turn up Lesser Black-backed and Iceland in a different field, so at least we got those for the cumulative total! 

I did a quick check of a couple spots around the neighborhood later, but couldn't turn up anything of note.

Today was the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC, so I was down there by shortly after 7am. I started at the VC beach, where I was shortly thereafter joined by Reuven. We did a short lakewatch, highlighted by White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, and a couple Red-throated Loons. I have had at least one Red-throated Loon every time I have done this count, so I am glad my streak was not broken! 

We then began the long 16 kilometer walk up Lakeshore Drive, with plans of returned back down Harrison trail. It wasn't super birdy, but we managed to turn up an Eastern Towhee, a couple Hermit Thrushes, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Lots of woodpecker action, as we had twelve Downies, eight Hairies, eight Red-bellieds, and three Pileateds. 

Downy Woodpecker from a past CBC

eBird checklist here.

With no compilation to go to, there wasn't much reason to stick around, so after scoping the bay, which held many distant ducks, we headed out. Reuven went back to London, but I wanted to quickly pop over to Erieau. It ended up being pretty quiet over there, and the only thing of note was about 165 American Coots.

That's a wrap for another year!

Rainy Rondeau Day

Yesterday I went down to the Rondeau area, in hopes of catching up with a couple of birds, one of which being the juvenile Purple Gallinule found by Steve Charbonneau on Tuesday, at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. This is apparently the first record for Chatham-Kent. 

It rained most of the way there, and upon pulling up to the lagoons, there was quite a bit of lightning. It was decided that standing out in the open on the lagoons with a metal tripod was probably not in my best interest. So instead, I opted to go to Erieau first. There were quite a few gulls, terns, and cormorants on tbe pier, in the trees, and on the beaches. I picked through them, but was unable to turn up anything good. I had about 250 (probably more) Common Terns, which is the most I had ever seen at once. Hardly any shorebirds, other than three Sanderlings, and a few Spotted Sandpipers. I flushed a Black-crowned Night-Heron from the base of the pier, which seemed like a really odd spot. My first for the Rondeau area.

Afterwards, the rain seemed to let up a bit, so I went back to the sewage lagoons. The sky seemed sort of threatening, so I left the camera in the car. It took a bit, but finally the Purple Gallinule made its appearance. Quite the pretty thing, even if it wasn't an adult. It hopped up onto some Phragmites and sat and preened itself. It was up high enough we were able to have it at eye level!

We checked the sprinkler cell, and found lots of Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, and yellowlegs, as well as a few Baird's Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Stilt Sandpipers. 

Afterwards, I went to Keith McLean. The birders from the lagoons also ended up there! It was raining, so again no camera!

The water is quite high, so we couldn't go too far back. We heard a Common Gallinule, which made it a two gallinule day. There was also a nice Baird's and Stilt Sandpiper together feeding quite close to us. 

I was joined by Ezra Campanelli, and we walked along the road to where my target bird was seen feeding. It took a couple minutes, but soon the Red Knot was spotted! A beautiful juvenile. Knots are probably my favourite bird! There was also a gorgeous juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher. 

Ezra and I then headed into the park. I didn't really know what to do, so we decided just to do South Point Trail and see what we could see. On the way, we decided to hit the beach access off the VC. There was a Red-headed Woodpecker there upon parking, which was nice. We noticed a large flock of loafing gulls and terns, so we started our way down the beach to see what was with them. The reoccurring theme of the day was that there were no good gulls to be found! As we walked back, we came across a group of three Ruddy Turnstones. They were a FOY for Ezra, and one we had hoped for, so that was a success. 

Next up was South Point. Not too much to be seen. We went out to the beach at the lighthouse, and along the way I caught a ribbonsnake, a lifer for the both of us. 

Again, we saw a huge group of gulls, so we went after them. Nothing to be seen! We ended up walking up to Dog Beach, where we cut in and walked back to the car along Lakeshore. Ezra had to leave back to Hamilton, so we parted ways. By this point the skies had cleared (finally), and I had noticed some cool plants along the walk, so I decided to retrace our steps, and see what I could see along the way. 

One of the highlights was this. I am pretty sure it is Yellow Flatsedge (Cyperus flavescens). It is an S2 in Ontario, and considered rare in Chatham-Kent.

Another highlight was Small-headed Rush (Juncus brachycephalus). I admittedly am not super good at rushes, but I am pretty confident in this ID! 

At one point I noticed a number of caterpillars feeding on Small-flower False Foxglove (Agalinis purpurea parviflora), which turned out to be Common Buckeyes. I had seen a number of adults of this species as well.

The host plant.

I also saw a Five-lined Skink. Always a treat. This is a juvenile, note the blue tail.

A photo dump of some of the other plants I saw.

Trailing Fuzzy Bean (Strophostyles helvola)

Northern Evening Primrose (Oenothera parviflora)

Redwhisker Clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra)

Seaside Sandmat (Euphorbia polygonifolia)

Tumbleweed (Salsola tragus)

Cylindrical Blazing Star (Liatris cylindracea)

Golden Sedge (Carex aurea)

And of course, the mystery prickly pears (Opuntia sp.) of Rondeau. They are not native to the park, and I don't think anyone really knows for sure their species or origin! 

I cut inland, and went to the washout. Very little bird-wise, so here are some more plants :-)

Matted Spikerush (Eleocharis intermedia)

Blunt Spikerush (Eleocharis obtusa)

Straw-coloured Flatsedge (Cyperus strigosus)

I pished up a storm on the way back, and got a bunch of vireos (Red-eyed, Warbling, and a Philadelphia), a couple warblers, and some flycatchers. I am pretty sure I had a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but it managed to hide behind the leaves!

Just before leaving, I head a Black-bellied Plover calling out towards the lake from the South Point parking lot. A bit unexpected, but welcome!

Overall, a very successful day in Rondeau, despite all the rain! 

Rondeau Rounds 2.0

This past Wednesday I went back to Rondeau Park. I arrived early, right at 5:00, in hopes of hearing some Whip-poor-wills. It took a bit, and several woodcocks (out of a total of 28) later, we found the first one! One of four total, all singing along Lakeshore Road. A new park bird for me. Seems I never spend as much time as I want down there! You can hear a recording I took here.

I went to the Marsh Trail parking lot, where I noticed a bunch of swallows going by, I estimated about 15,000 total. The majority seemed to actually be Bank Swallow, from what I saw and heard, but there were some Tree and Barn mixed in as well. I caught a glimpse of a couple Northern Rough-wingeds, and thought I saw a Cliff, but other than that, not too much variety!

As per usual, I started out in the campground. Easily one of my favourite places in the park! It was vastly different than last Friday, very few birds around! I spied Barb Charlton and her group (which included the MacNeals, the Rileys, Charmaine Anderson, and Isabel Apkarian), so I went and joined them. Nice to see some familiar faces again! Nothing crazy, but we turned up Yellow-throated Vireo and a female Cerulean Warbler. I saw the White-eyed Vireo that they had found just before I met up with them. I had all six vireos this day!

Takeoff

I bid farewell to the others, and joined Tim Arthur on a walk around maintenance and down Harrison. Pretty quiet! A few warblers here and there, but nothing really of note (as shown by my lack of photographs).

Tim and I parted ways at the VC. My dad and I made a quick loop of Tulip Tree Trail, picking up the day's first Red-eyed Vireo and Prothonotary Warbler. I drove down Lakeshore Road a bit, no White-winged Dove (I'm used to that by now). I stopped in at Dog Beach, where I found a nice assortment of shorebirds, including Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Dunlin, and Least Sandpiper.

I next went to the west part of the South Point Trail, somewhere I have actually not been! They usually have Rondeau Road blocked off at Bennett Ave, so I don't venture down that way!

Dad looking at something, probably a Yellow Warbler

If you wanted Yellow Warbler, this would be the place! Very few other warblers. I looked for plants mostly.

Hairy Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum pubescens)

White Bear Sedge (Carex albursina)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Licorice Bedstraw (Gallium circaezans) 

Bulbous Cress (Cardamine bulbosa)

Rattlesnake Fern (Botrypus virginianus)

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana)

One of my main targets was Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis), which I saw a couple plants of. None in flower though. This is a pretty uncommon orchid.

I had this sedge near the end, which stumped me for a bit. I'm pretty sure it is just Awl-fruited Sedge (Carex stipata) with immature spikelets, something I don't recall seeing before. I was hoping it'd be something new, but alas, not.

You can see why they split South Point Trail in half...

An odd tree.

Near the end of the trail, I was hunched over some plant, when I heard the telltale song of a Prothonotary Warbler! We quickly located it in a slough. It disappeared into a cavity in a tree at one point.

After the hike back, we ate some lunch, then went to Spicebush Trail. Not many birds, so again, it was time for some good ole botany.

Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

Twoleaf Mitrewort (Mitella diphylla)

Goose Egg Moss (Arrhenopterum heterostichum)

Well, there was one bird. A very cooperative Canada Warbler (hi Allen!).

I made a stop along Bennett before leaving the park. Finally saw that Eastern Screech-owl that everyone has been seeing! Also had my first and only Bay-breasted Warbler!

Just before I embarked for home, I stopped into Keith McLean CA. Even more flooded than last time. Still a few shorebirds.

Least Sandpiper

I think this may look good for a the griseus subspecies of Short-billed Dowitcher.

Finally saw some Black-bellied Plovers! They have evaded me in Chatham-Kent for awhile now. They were in the company of some Dunlin and a turnstone.

Slow day full of some quality birds! I managed to hit 110 species in the park, and added about 10 more at McLeans, so I am happy with that!